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For more Leo and friends all week long, listen to the
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Saturday February 6, 2010
Show Audio
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Edited Audio | |
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Posted one week after broadcast… | |
Tech News
The battle of the iPad rages on
Disappointed techies who don’t like no flash. Bad name. Upset book publishers wanting to charge more at Amazon like Apple is allowing. The battle is on in the iPad universe.
Leo says that while the iPad isn’t even out yet, it’s changed the face of publishing and ecommerce with it’s new “agency” price model which is causing publishers to go to Amazon and say they want the same thing. McMillan wanted to charge more, Amazon said no and pulled all their books for about 2 days. Then rolled over and accepted the new structure. Now all other publishers want the same scheme.
Apple vs. Google turns into a shooting war
With the advent of the Google Nexus One, and Google adding multi-touch to the latest update, the battle between Apple and Google is in full swing. And developers are being caught in the middle. One app developer who was a finalized in the Google Android competition was told to remove the boast from his iPhone App submission or have it denied. Wow!
And where’s Microsoft? Good question.
Hour 1
Q Peter, Brooklyn, NY - Working online
Peter wants to know where he can find “legit” listings for working online at home. Leo says that while there are some scams out there (like stuffing envelopes, etc), there are legit online gigs, but they don’t make much money.
Amazon has “Mechanical Turk,” which is a search/answer service where you answer questions and get paid. They are, however, aimed at low pay and low standard of living. A better option is elance.com - which offers jobs for web design, coding, etc. Rentacoder is another. Then there’s dice.com. All offer online job options.
Q Bill, San Juan, Puerto Rico - Cloning his OS
Bill wants to clone his OS. How does he do that? Leo says that cloning is a good idea. There are some great choices - EaseUS ToDo Backup. You can even make a bootable copy, which is cool. Drive Snapshot is also a good one as is Image for Windows.
Q Anthony, Los Angeles, CA - Running Windows on his Mac
Two ways to run Windows on the Mac. 1. Bootcamp, which comes with your MAC OS. When you first boot the Machine, it lets you choose. 2. Virtually. Using programs like Sun’s Virtual Box (free), Parallels, or VMWare Fusion. Shoudl he keep the Bootcamp partition? Leo says yes. Both Parallels and VMWare will see the Bootcamp partition and use it.
What about using XP Mode? That would be running virtualization within Virtualization and Microsoft has determined that for Windows 7 Pro, you need a VT rated processor.
Hour 2
Q Gwendolyn, San Diego, CA - Using Carbonite
Gwendolyn wants to try Carbonite, but is concerned with it taking over her internet to do it. Leo says that’s not how it works. Carbonite “trickles,” in the background so it doesn’t do what Gwen is concerned with. And once the initial backup is done, updating that backup is fairly quick. But Leo also recommends a local backup option. You can get an external hard drive with all the room you need for under $100. Microsoft’s SyncToy is a great option for that local backup utility which updates automatically.
How can she backup programs? Leo says that utilities like Carbonite and Sync Toy won’t backup programs. But you can make an image backup of your hard drive which will accomplish the same thing. There are some great choices - EaseUS ToDo Backup. You can even make a bootable copy, which is cool. Drive Snapshot is also a good one as is Image for Windows.
Q David, Granada Hills, CA - Updating cellphone firmware
David has a Samsung Moment Android phone and wants to know when it’ll get a firmware update. Leo says that Android is an “open source” OS that’s really locked down. Some phones are restricted by the phone manufacturer and the phone carrier for the OS you can use. What you have to do is talk to your phone carrier about when they’ll be pushing the latest Android update (currently vs. 2.1).
You could update the phone on your own by getting Android ROMs, but you will most likely void your warranty and run the risk of “bricking” your phone, and Leo doesn’t recommend taking that risk.
From the Chatroom - Sprint announced in December announced upgrading to 2.1 in the first half of 2010. So be patient, David, help is on the way.
Q; Joey, Columbus, OH - Constant buffering
Joey has a fast broadband connection, but he gets constant buffering when he’s streaming video. Leo says buffering happens when packets are missing and the player has to wait for the frames to come in so it can put it back in order. You can increase the buffer length in your flash settings.
Leo also says that your modem could be out of date. Check to see if your modem is DOCSIS 3 compatible. If not, ask them for one. That’ll make it far faster and more accurate in delivering it’s packets.
Q Michael, Escondido, CA - Plasma lifespan
Michael has heard that plasmas dont’ have a long lifespan. Leo says that older 1st generation plasmas had that problem as the gas they use could very slowly leak out. But he’s certain that issue was fixed along with the burn in issue and longevity is comparable to LCD.
Which is better, though. Panasonic or Samsung? He’s heard that the Panasonic has a “buzzing sound.” Leo promises he’ll check tomorrow with Scott Wilkinson, on both issues, so stay tuned.
Hour 3
Q Pam, Rialto, CA - Saving drawings as vectors in Illustrator
Pam has an old version of Adobe Streamline which she uses to process her line drawings. But they don’t make it anymore. Leo says that Adobe has integrated Streamline capability into something called Live Trace in Illustrator, and it works even better.
Q Edward, Los Angeles, CA - phone recommendation
Edward is thinking about getting a Samsung Omnia II. Leo says while he can’t review every phone, he has heard that the Omnia 2 (and it’s gorgeous OLED screen) has gotten good reviews. But Leo’s not bullish on it because it uses Windows Mobile and he’s not a fan. But then again, hopefully, WM7 when it gets announced next week will be a vast improvement.
Q Kevin, Ashville, NC - Flac audio format
Kevin has converted his CDs to lossless FLAC audio format. Leo says that CDs themselves have lost some quality over original recording, but FLAC gives you pretty much a bit for bit sound quality. But it’s also three times larger. Kevin wants to move them to a portable player. What are his choices? The iRiver player does, as does the Sanza. However, another option is for ITunes to convert them to the Apple Lossless format for playing on the iPod or iPhone. But only the Apple players will support it.
Q Bob, Redlands, CA - replacing his computer
Bob needs to replace his computer at the office. He needs to know where to get it, set it up, etc. Leo says that Dell on Call is a service which Dell offers which will send a technician out to set it up for you. Leo gets all his PCs from Dell and has been very happy. But you’ll also want to pay for the GOLD support, since most tech support has been de-linked from the product purchase price.
Bob also wants to know if he’s being overly paranoid by not having his computers online. Leo says yes, and no. No in that it’s good to be overly paranoid with all the security risks online. But you also need updates, etc. There are ways you can protect yourself. Make sure you have auto updates on, have a good AVS like Microsoft Security Essentials or our sponsor Nod 32.
Q Ed, Rialto, CA - DVD lifespans
Ed wants to know how long burned DVDs will last? Leo says you want to be sure you have cases that aren’t abrasive. Also temperature and light all conspire to degrade and fade the dyes. But the bottom line is, we’re starting to see burned DVDs failing now. So every year or so you’re going to want to check the DVD and reburn it to keep your videos safe. Last thing you want is to lose valuable home movies that you burned onto DVD and they’re now unreadable.
And Leo says that the best long term storage is an external hard drive.
Q Karen, Fresno, CA - Phone recommendation
Karen is thinking about getting the HTC Hero for her Sprint network. Thoughts? Leo says that the Hero is a great choice if you’re on Sprint. It runs Android. What about the Blackberry Storm? Leo really doesn’t like the Storm and prefers the regular Blackberry Curve or Bold. But Blackberry’s OS is getting a tad long in the tooth these days.
Sprint also runs the Palm Pre, which is a nice OS and is really good. However, the software support isn’t as robust and popular yet. In the end, Leo likes Android phones and the Hero is a good option.
Regardless, Leo recommends to try before you buy. Go into the Sprint Store and play with it. And know that most carriers will give you two weeks to try it out and return it if you don’t like it.
See you tomorrow!
